The former chief doctor of Formula One says he has learned of 'serious lapses of judgement' in Michael Schumacher's care

Michael Schumacher was airlifted to the 'wrong' hospital after his ski crash losing vital hours to save him, it has been revealed.

Schumacher, 45, was rushed to a local clinic instead of being taken to brain specialists after his hit his head while skiing in the French Alps.

Gary Hartstein, the former chief doctor of Formula One say he believes this decision could have majorly affected his chances of recovery.

He told The Sun: 'You do not take patients with a suspected head injury to hospitals that do not have neuro-surgical capability.'

After being initially airlifted to Moutiers Schumacher was taken to Grenoble University Hospital, about 50 miles away where he has remained since.

Yesterday Hartstein, who was F1 sport's chief doctor between 2005 and 2012, said he had learned of 'serious lapses of judgement'
in Schumacher's care and that the world is witnessing the long
goodbye of motorsport's legendary figure.

Hartstein says he had heard from 'usually impeccable sources' to say that these lapses 'could, and almost certainly did, worsen the outcome in Michael's case.'

Hartstein believes that the 'terribly dismal prognosis' over the long-term recovery prospects of Schumacher have made his carers at the University Hospital in Grenoble, France, ease-off pressurising his family to transfer their loved one to a specialised clinic for long-term coma patients better equipped to deal with people in persistent comas.

After being initially airlifted to Moutiers from Meribel Schumacher was taken to Grenoble University Hospital, about 50 miles away where he has remained since

'It is possible that the staff at
Grenoble feel duty-bound to NOT place any pressure on the family to
transfer out, despite the terribly dismal prognosis . . . because of the
clear (but unquantifiable) contribution of medical misjudgement to that
prognosis,' wrote Hartstein on his latest medical blog as Schumacher
enters his 87th day in a coma with no signs at all of coming around from
it.

Hartsein says; 'As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent.'

He believes the world must brace itself for the worst possible outcome in Schumacher's case, saying: 'I
always knew Michael was adored. I spent years at circuits drenched in
red by the Ferrari caps, flags, and shirts, and all of that for Michael.
I’m still staggered by the depth and persistence of his fans’ love for
him.

Gary Hartstein, F1 sport's chief doctor between 2005 and 2012, says he had heard from 'usually impeccable sources' to say that these lapses 'could, and almost certainly did, worsen the outcome in Michael's case'

'And whereas I
worried more than a bit about what was going to happen when and if
really bad news got announced, I’ve realised that perhaps the lack of
status updates has given us all a chance to move on a bit, to process
what’s happening, and to start to . . . detach.

'And I think this is probably one of the unexpected 'benefits' to the media strategy chosen by Michael’s family. Somehow, I get the feeling that people are going to be ok, no matter what happens, because they’ve now had the time to process this all. I just regret that to get here, you’ve all had to work through feeling abandoned. That will go away too. I hope.'

A helicopter is parked in front of the emergency department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire hospital in Grenoble, France, where Michael Schumacher is receiving treatment

Dr Hartstein said it is 'entirely
possible and, in fact, probable,' that Schumacher has lost 25 percent of
his body weight since being placed in the artificial coma after
suffering terrible brain injuries when his head struck a rock during a
low-speed ski run on the slopes of the French resort of Meribel on
December 29.

He says
the question why he hasn't been transferred to another clinic - or even
to a specialist room constructed in his own home - remains unanswered.

'So why is he still in Grenoble? I’m basing myself on the notion that Michael is still in the Intensive Care Unit, and is still being ventilated. First of all, it clearly shows that his entourage is totally confident with the quality of care Michael is receiving.

'It’s important to remember that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are a very limited resource. Every day intensivists are asked to admit critically ill patients to units whose beds are all filled.

This requires TRIAGE – deciding who has the best chance of being improved by being admitted to the unit.

'The 'chronically critically ill', patients like Michael who depend on technology - a ventilator - to stay alive, are a tremendous conundrum for ICU personnel.

'Therefore, I think it is inevitable that should the status quo continue, the ICU staff may well, at some point in the not-distant future, decide that the patient they’ve just been asked to admit has a higher need for that bed than Michael, given his clinical situation and prognosis. This then could be a reason to organise a transfer – to a private clinic, or to an ICU-like environment that his entourage could build at his home.'

He then levels his charges of 'lapses in judgement,' hinting that the Grenoble physicians are somehow embarrassed to ask the family to move him out because they feel partly responsible for his present condition.

Corinna, with whom he has two children Gina Marie, 16, and Mick, 14, has remained at his bedside

Dr Hartstein says that a coma is defined as persistent when it has lasted more than two months after the precipitating event. 'For info, I assume this is Michael’s current status,' he adds.

'As mentioned previously, the longer one remains in a vegetative state, the less the likelihood of emerging, and the higher the chances of severe ramifications if the patient does in fact emerge. Most definitions consider the vegetative state to be permanent one year after the injury.

'Patients who are in a persistent/permanent vegetative state have lifespans that are measured in months to a few years. This depends on baseline function (extraordinary in the case of Michael, of course), the quality of nursing care, and other imponderables.

'They usually die of respiratory or urinary infections. Longer survivals have been described, but are exceptional.'

Schumacher's spokeswoman said only last week that the waking-up phase of Michael is continuing and said that it will 'take as long as it takes.'

But neuro experts around the world believe that Schumacher's condition is, in fact, far worse than the limited public statements she has been authorised to make by his wife Corinna and other advisers, indicate.

Some German journalists say that the Grenoble medical team have already informed Corinna that they believe her husband will remain in a permanent vegetative state and that only a miracle can now save him.